The Phoenix Stone
by Joseph Knight
Summary: When Phoenix tears are frozen, the become a stone with amazing powers. What would happen if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named ever got one of these stones? Follow new first year Colin O'Beary through his school year as he tries to find out!
1. Prelude

****

Prelude

~*~*~

The call of some mysterious bird sounded through the dim corridors of an ancient building. An old man with a long silvery beard and a pair of half-moon spectacles gently stroked the birds feathers.

"It is quite alright, my dear friend," the old man said, comfortingly. "Your gem will be very safe here."

The bird cried again.

"I know what you are thinking, but calm yourself. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has no way of entering this place. Your stone shall be as safe as could be. Now, go back to my study. You need your rest. You are such an old bird after all." The man smiled as his bird flew off of his shoulder and out of one of the high windows.

The man moved forward into a circular room. A pedestal stood at the center of the room and a shaft of light shown on it from a window in the ceiling. When he reached the pedestal, he rummaged through his crimson robes for a second, and then drew out something of a tear-drop shaped crystal. He placed the crystal in the center of the pedestal, and, as the light from above shone through it, millions of squares of rainbow light were thrown against the walls.

"I do hope that this place is truly safe from Lord Voldemort. If he ever manages to attain this stone…" he trailed off. His old eyes were filled with worry and doubt. "I dare not think of the consequences."

"Perhaps then, the stone should be destroyed," said a voice from the shadows. A woman stepped out into the light. She wore emerald green robes and a tall, pointed hat. He hair was held back in a tight bun and her mouth was smaller than you would ever think possible.

"Professor McGonnagal," the old man said. "It is really not polite to eavesdrop, nor follow someone uninvited."

"Come now, Albus," McGonnagal said, her tone somewhat harsh. "You cannot let something as precious as this exist. If it were ever used for evil, the entire world would suffer."

"Yes, but if it were used for good, the world would be rid of suffering for good. I believe that the benefits outweigh the consequences."

"But, if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were to ever acquire this stone, he would surely bring about a second Dark Age."

Worry returned to the old man's eyes. He stroked his long, silver beard and adjusted his spectacles. "Yes, Minerva. That is a possibility. But, a possibility, nonetheless."

"Albus…"

"Minerva, the Phoenix Stone stays. We will simply make sure that its defenses are first rate."

"Very well, Albus. I trust your judgement. Come now, we must get going. The first years are due for arrival any moment."


	2. The Hogwarts Express

AN – This story takes place during Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. So, you should think of Harry as the gang as fifth years. I started writing this story before the fifth book came out, so that's the context that I'm writing in. Remember, they are fifth years. Not sixth, not fourth, but fifth. Thank you, and enjoy your reading.

****

Chapter 1: The Hogwarts Express

~*~*~

__

…The Star will shine,

and Darkness shall be torn asunder.

Faerie shall be cleansed,

and all shall be anew,

and the slate will be wiped clean.

Ashes to ashes,

dust to dust.

All shall be anew,

and the slate will be wiped clean…

~*~*~

The whistle of the Hogwarts Express sounded throughout the crowded Platform 9 ¾. Young wizards and witches pushed their way through the to the entrances of the train cars, lugging around large trunks of school supplies. A brown haired boy of eleven years hurried along in his pitch-black robes. A middle-aged woman hurried along behind him.

"Slow down, Colin," she called, "we're barely late."

"Well, barely is still too much for me," the boy said, turning around. He waited for his guardian to catch up. She held a brass cage in her hand with an owl perched inside it. The owl hooted at the sight of the luggage being loaded into the hold. "Don't worry, Goldfoot old friend. You're sitting with me." He took the brass cage in his hands and stepped up to the door.

"Be careful, Colin," the woman said. She planted a kiss on his forehead. He squinted as she did so.

"Rosie," he moaned, rubbing his forehead with his palm. "I will be."

"Write everyday."

"I will. Good-bye."

"See you next summer," Rosie said as the train began to pull out. Colin nodded and waved to her from the door's window as the crimson train pulled out of the station. Colin backed up from the door, with the brass cage under his arm, and tried to find a seat in one of the compartments.

There wasn't one empty compartment in the entire train. Every time Colin came to a door, he would peer through the window and see that a group was already inside it.

"This is hopeless!" Colin finally said, as he came to the end of the train. "I'll just pick one then!" He walked up to one of the compartments, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

A boy with flaming red hair slid the door open. He looked to be about five years older than Colin. His face was filled with freckles. When he saw Colin, he let out a sigh, "Aww, not the snack cart."

"Unless you find three-day-old graham crackers appetizing, I'd say you're right," Colin said back with a smile. "Nope, no snack cart, just Colin O'Beary."

"Be nice Ron," a voice quipped from inside the compartment. Colin looked past the boy to see a girl with a bush of auburn hair and a fairly well-formed face. Her forehead was wrinkled with annoyance. "Please excuse our friend here. He's a little immature."

"That being an understatement, of course," another voice said. Colin looked again to see another boy sitting. He had a messy head of black hair and wore a pair of perfectly round glasses. "Don't just stand in the doorway, then. I think Ron might get mad if you keep him from seeing the cart." The boy motioned for Colin to sit. Colin took a seat next to the girl. Ron continued to stand in the doorway, peering down the aisle.

"Sit down Ron!" another girl said. Her hair was the same flaming red, and her cheeks were filled with tiny freckles. "Really, you're an embarrassment."

"Oh, excuse us. Here you are sitting with us and you don't even know our names. I'm Hermione Granger," the girl said. "That's Ron Weasly over there, and his sister Ginny Weasly next to him" she pointed to the two with red hair, "and that's Harry Potter," she concluded.

Colin raised one eyebrow at the boy. "I've seen quite a few 'Harry Potters' in my lifetime. Let's see your proof."

"Not much," the boy said back. "Just the scar." He lifted his bangs to reveal a lighting-bolt scar. "And if that's not enough, I can conjure my birth certificate for you."

Colin nodded. "I'll take your word for it. It's just that the last Harry Potter I saw was blond, about half your height, and spoke in German." The three laughed.

"Well, we've go the real McCoy here," Ron said, patting Harry on the back.

"You're a first-year right?" Hermione asked. Colin nodded in response. "That's what I thought. If you want, I can help you with any of your classes."

"That's Hermione for you. Always the book worm," Ginny observed.

"Thanks," Colin said back. "I'm sure I could use the help."

The snack cart came by soon thereafter, and Ron bought as much as he cold with whatever money he had in his pockets. He munched happily in one corner of the cabin while the other four talked.

"I wonder who'll be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year?" Hermione inquired.

"Good question. Let's just hope that whoever they are, they have a good insurance plan and strong nerves," Harry said. Everyone laughed. Colin had a questioning look.

"Oh, it's not that we're being mean," Ginny said. "It's just that no DADA has ever lasted more than one year at Hogwarts as long as any of us have been there."

"Ish shom short of cush er shumtin," Ron managed to spit out through a mouthful of Pumpkin Pasties. He swallowed hard and said, "They've all either died or been dismissed." As he finished his sentence, the door of the compartment slid open.

"Speaking of curses, here's the biggest one on the campus," Ginny said under her breath.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry said to the figure in the doorway. His sliver hair was slicked back more than Colin believed possible. He was flanked by two boys who seemed so large, it was a mystery to Colin as to how they fit inside the train at all.

"It's a free country, Potter," Malfoy sneered back. "I can do as I please."

"Actually, that would the U.S, Malfoy," Hermione said back, coolly. "If you're going to us clichés, at least use the ones appropriate to this country." She let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Hold your tongue, Mudblood," Malfoy snapped.

"Leave before I rearrange your face," Harry said, and with a quick flick of the wrist, the door slid shut, and locked. Ron gave Harry a high-five.

"Draco Malfoy," Hermione began, after a bit of gloating on Harry's part, "you'd best stay clear of him."

"He's a bad seed," Ginny said, shaking her head.

"You say that about everybody," Ron said patting his sister on the head.

"Well it's true!" Ginny said, shooing his hand away. Everyone laughed.

The rest of the train ride past in an instant. In what felt like no time at all, the train was already pulling up at the station. The conductor called to make sure everyone was ready. Colin had changed out of his street clothes and into his generic school robes. He straightened his tie with the Hogwarts crest on it as he stepped down from the train car.

Colin followed the flow of students towards one end of the platform, when he noticed that Harry and the others were heading off in a different direction.

"Where are you guys going?" Colin asked. "Aren't you coming this way?"

"Sorry, Colin, but we go up this way," Harry said.

"Privilege for everyone above first year," Ron said. "Sorry kid."

"You'd better hurry up, Hagrid'll leave without you," Ginny said, shooing him away.

Colin waved good-bye and followed the stream of first years towards the lake. As he was walking, above all of the chatter from the other first years, he heard a loud voice calling.

"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!"


	3. The Sorting

****

Chapter 2

~*~*~

He was as big as a house, and that was an understatement. His hands were the size of garbage-can covers, and were wrapped in thick fur gloves. He wore a thick moleskin coat and fur-lined boots. Apparently, his face was nowhere near being cold, because he wore not hat or scarf. That, Colin supposed, was due to his incredibly large amount of hair.

"Firs' years over here!" he shouted over the crowd. "We'll be leavin' for the castle in a bit, an' you don't want to be lef' behind."

When it seemed that the entire first year class had assembled, the man gave a sweep of his large hand, indicating that the students should follow him. He lead them to the lake, and across an old, mossy pier where a small fleet of boats was docked, before he spoke again.

"Right then, everyone here? Okay. I am Rubeus Hagrid, and I'm the Keeper of Grounds and Keys here at Hogwarts. I'll be leadin' you all across the lake in these here boats. We're already a bit behind the schedule, so we should hurry up. Four to a boat now, come on!"

The first years stepped cautiously across the pier and stepped down into the boats. Colin was at the back of the crowd, and was just about to step down into a boat, when he heard a small voice behind him

"Excuse me, but is this where the first years are?" the voice asked. It was very small and soft, yet smooth as velvet.

Colin turned around when he heard the voice and saw a young girl standing on the shore. She wore a thick, fur-lined red cloak over her school robes. Her blonde hair fell lightly across her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep blue and her cheeks were rosy from the cold. He waved to Hagrid to tell him to wait up and ran back to where the girl was standing.

"Yes, we're just leaving for the castle now."

"Good, I was afraid that I had missed you."

Colin smiled and took her hand. "We'd better be leaving, though. The boats are about to leave and they seem to be getting a bit impatient." He walked her up the pier and to one of the boats. "Here we are."

"Thank you so much," she said as she stepped down into the boat empty boat. Colin steadied it for her and stepped in as well.

When the last of the first years were settled, Hagrid made a great sweeping motion with his hand and said, "To the school!" The boats immediately started moving forward across the silvery surface of the Great Lake.

Her name was Anna Dubois. Colin wasn't able to get her to tell him much of anything about her family. She always shied away from that subject. He did manage to get her to tell him that she came from France and was originally planning to go to Beauxbatons. 

"So, are you an orphan, then?" Colin asked, as the boat slid along the water.

"In a way. I guess you could say that," Anna replied.

Colin chuckled. "I can relate," he said. "I never knew my parents either."

Anna didn't reply. She simply looked down at her hands folded in her lap.

The millions of lights shining out from the castle reflected themselves on the smooth water of the Great Lake. The boats pulled themselves up to another mossy pier. Hagrid threw a rope up and anchored his boat, and, when he was finished, he helped the rest of the first years anchor theirs.

"Come on now. We're still behind schedule and I reckon that the rest of the school'll be rather sore if we don't get in there soon. Hurry up now, let's go!"

The first years helped each other out of the boats and began following Hagrid across the pier. Colin helped Anna out and they followed the group.

Hagrid led the first years through a dark tunnel and up through a succession of winding staircases until they came to a pair of large, oak doors. Hagrid pushed them open, revealing a large, vaulted entry hall.

"I'll have to be leavin' now," Hagrid said when he had herded the first years in to the center of the hall. "I've got a bit of, er, business to tend to." As he walked off to another pair of oak doors, more footsteps could be heard coming from the opposite direction. Colin looked up to see a woman in emerald green robes walking up to the crowd.

"First years," she spoke in a shrill voice that echoed through the vaulted ceilings. "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a few moments you will pass through the doors behind me and join you classmates, but before you can take your seats, you must be Sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I am Professor McGonnagal, Head of Gryffindor, and Deputy Headmistress of the School. Now, in a few moments, the Sorting ceremony will begin. Wait here and I will come for you when it is time." She walked off down a corridor, leaving the first years in a mass in the middle of the entrance hall.

The first years proceeded to mingle for the next few minutes. Colin's guardian Rosie had told him that his parents had both been in Gryffindor during their time at Hogwarts. Colin hoped for that House as well. As he was thinking, he looked over to where Anna was standing next to him. She was looking around the Hall and had what Colin believed to be a look of worry on her face. Colin was about to ask her what was wrong when McGonnagal walked up again.

"We're ready for you now," she said. She turned and led the first years in a line through the large doors and into the Great Hall. The entire Hall fell silent as the first years made their way down the center of the Hall and to the front where a tattered old wizard's hat was set on an old wooden stool. McGonnagal stopped the new students a few feet away from the stool and then turned to face the school. She produced a long scroll from her emerald robes and spoke.

"When I call your name, you shall step forward, place the Sorting Hat on your head and wait to hear you House. Your placement is non-negotiable," she said as she unrolled the parchment and began reading off names. A Stuart Abbot was sorted into Hufflepuff while a Denise Aberson was placed in Ravenclaw. Both looked relatively happy with their placement. Julius Adders was placed into Slytherin. He looked particularly satisfied. And with every new person sorted, the House receiving the new first year erupted in applause.

When the D's came around, Colin listened for Anna's placement. The shy blonde stepped up to the Hat's stool and sat down. She winced slightly as McGonnagal placed the hat on her head. A moment of anticipation filled the air as the school watched to see where the next student would be placed. The hat finally called out GRYFFINDOR! The Gryffindor table erupted and Anna walked over. She took a seat at the end of the table on the far side, close to the door.

The Sorting continued on until the O's came up. When Colin's name was called, he stepped up to the stool and sat down. As soon as McGonnagal placed the hat on his head, he heard a voice whispering in the back of his head.

__

Hmm…where to put you? Where to put you? You've got knowledge, I see, and a good deal of it. That's a Ravenclaw trait, you know. But, no, that's not the House for you. I see a diligence in you as well. Hufflepuffs are the masters of diligence. But you don't fit there do you? How about Slytherin, then? You've got great ambition and those Slytherins are the most ambitious bunch I've ever seen. But, what's this here? I see a desire to do good, protect those you treasure, and something else…something that I haven't seen in many, many years. You'd fit well in Gryffindor too. Tell you what. I'll leave the choice up to you. What House would you put yourself in?

Colin thought back _I really don't think I should make that decision. You're the Sorting Hat after all. Wherever you put me, I'll go._

Very well then. I say, you belong in GRYFFINDOR!

Colin smiled as the hat was raised off of his head. He walked to the Gryffindor table and was about to go to the end where Anna was sitting but was pulled in with Harry and the gang before he could get down to the end of the table.

"Jolly good Colin!" Ron said, patting him on the back. "Great to have you with us!"

"Glad to be here," Colin replied.

When the Sorting was finally finished, an ancient looking man stood from a golden chair at the center of the Head Table. Professor McGonnagal, sitting next to him, tapped her glass for attention. The whole school looked up, and the Hall fell silent as the man prepared to speak.

"Welcome all returning students, and an especially warm welcome to our new first years. As most of you know, I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. I realize that you are all anxious to begin feasting, but first, I have a few start of term announcements. Firstly, Mr. Filch has added several more items to his list of restricted objects. The list now includes all manner of joke, trick, and otherwise fake school supplies and general items. Also, be aware that areas marked with RESTRICTED signs are not to be entered by anyone without proper permission. Now then, let us eat!" Dumbledore clapped his hands and as he did, great mountains of food appeared on the tables. "Tuck in!"

Colin left the Great Hall sometime around midnight, he couldn't quite remember. Harry and the gang led Colin to the Gryffindor Common Room and the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" the Lady asked as the five approached.

"Higgledy-piggledy," Hermione recited, flawlessly. The Fat Lady bowed as she swung her portrait open, revealing the hole.

Inside the Common Room, Colin said good night to everyone else, as they ascended the stairs to the dormitories. "I think I'll stay down here for a while," Colin said, walking over to the fireplace. "I'm not really that tired."

When Harry and everyone were all upstairs, he went over to the chairs facing the fire.

"Hi there, Anna."


End file.
